The following is a statement issued by Penn State University in response to an investigation released Sunday by the family of Joe Paterno:
“In November 2011, the Penn State Board of Trustees appointed former FBI director and federal Judge Louis Freeh to conduct an independent investigation of the University’s response to the allegations of sexual abuse committed by former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky. The goal of this investigation was to uncover facts and identify where failures occurred in the University’s governance and compliance structure and to make recommendations to help ensure that such failures never happen again. This was an internal investigation into Penn State’s response to the allegations.
It was not within the scope of Judge Freeh’s engagement to review the actions, motives or functions of entities outside of our University community. This was an internal investigation into Penn State’s response to the allegations, and that is how the University has utilized the report.
As a result of the investigation, 119 recommendations were made to Penn State in areas such as safety and governance. To date, the University has implemented a majority of those recommendations, which are helping to make the University stronger and more accountable. The University intends to implement substantially all of the Freeh recommendations by the end of 2013.
It is understandable and appreciated that people will draw their own conclusions and opinions from the facts uncovered in the Freeh report.”